Emily's closet
by SuiJi
Summary: The events of the house in the country behind them, Katherine and Emily have settled into their new lives together. But does the game of hide and seek ever really end or is Charlie just waiting? Oneshot


**Disclaimer:_ Hide and Seek_ and it's characters are not mine and are owned by their perspective copy right holders.****That being said, i hope you enjoy this short piece and please read and review.**

The house was old and quiet, which in itself is a bit of a conundrum since old homes are never quiet. By definition, as an old piece of construction, things in homes creak and squeak and moan when the wind blows, since the materials have aged and worn over the years; much like how an old person's bones crack at times. But at that moment a laugh brook the silence and rang out through the halls of the upstairs corridor. The laugh was not uncommon in the home, but it was not frequent either, since Emily was always a very quiet child. However Emily at that moment was laughing and having quite a bit of fun too. After all she was playing her favourite game; hide and seek.

Emily dashed down the hall, her socked feet making little sound as she shuffled and slid down the hardwood floor, her smile widening as she glided along as if she was skating. It was her turn to seek - having just been found herself only a few moments ago – and after counting to twenty by skipping several numbers, Emily was rushing to the mostly likely hiding place of her opponent. She made a quick right at the staircase, grabbing onto the banister to swing herself in the right direction, before shuffling to a stop in front of Katherine's room. That was where they always hid first, in Katharine's room. After all it had so many great hiding spaces; there was the big trunk, the bed, the window seat and of course the closet. Emily tiptoed the last few feet before silently twisting around the door frame to poke her head in the room. Everything was in its proper place and the only thing moving was the gentle swirl of the curtains, caused by the air heater. "Come out come out where ever you are." She called the smile evident in her voice.

Though it had been touch and go at first, Emily had slowly healed in Katherine's care and gone back to being the happy healthy child that she once was. She no longer had the hollow look of horror that had been permanently etched into the depths of her eyes, but rather the buoyant, natural look of a child. But that did not mean that her personality had changed, she was still the same quiet, soft spoken and at times the solemn child she had always been. She still had the almost startling maturity that tended to alienate her from children her age - but she did have friends none the less - and most importantly she laughed again, just how she used to when she spun on the go-round. She could laugh again and she could play again, even play hide and seek without the petrifying fear that Charlie would come look for her.

For reasons unknown, she had never mentioned the events in the cave to Katherine, nor had so much as said the word "Charlie". Even though Katherine had her suspicions, she did not want to force the topic, so the fact that Emily had repressed everything to the point that she had no memory of the house in the country or of Charlie had never been formally discussed. Emily had not spoken a word for weeks after the night in the cave and then once when she went to sleep, she woke up to ask Katherine where Daddy was. Extensive sessions with a psychologist had not helped, but rather done more immediate harm than good, by scaring Emily. She would wake up screaming in the night and had melted down with panic attacks whenever they left for the weekly session. Katherine had finally decided after several months to stop the stressful exercise all together for the time at least, and wait until Emily was emotionally and physiology ready to deal with it.

Emily step cautiously into the room, moving ever so slowly, before she jumped to the closet and reached for the doorknob. But just as she grasped it and the old brass knob creaked as it started to turn, the resounding echo of the front door being un-locked and opened was heard.

"Emily?" Katherine called. "Emily I'm home."

Emily did not answer but instead focused on the door knob, her hand halted in its action as she heard the approaching steps on the stairs.

"Emily?" Katherine called again, her voice closer. "Emily where are you?"

Emily listened carefully for the signature creak of the loose floor board by the closet next to Katherine's room. When she heard it her whole body tensed in anticipation of being found,

"Emily? Emily there you are. Why didn't you answer sweetie, didn't you hear me calling?"

"I was playing." Emily said softly before turning to smile at Katherine.

"Ooh..." Katherine replied, bending down to be at eye level with Emily. Emily glanced at the wool scarf twisted around Katherine's neck before looking back up to her caretakers face. "So what were you playing?" Katharine asked, straightening up and patting Emily's cheek with her still cold hand.

"Hide and Seek."

Katherine's face immediately clouded. "I told you not to have any friends over when I'm out."

"I know." Emily replied innocently. Katherine glanced at Emily's hand still on the doorknob.

"Emily, what is in the closet?" Katherine's voice was laced with a certain edge to it. Emily did not answer the question, but instead turned to face the door knob again.

"Emily, is someone in the closet?" Emily said nothing.

Katherine hesitantly lifted the child's hand from the doorknob, before slowly turning the brass fixture, click, click, click. The final creak echoed throughout the then silent room as Katherine quickly pulled open the door, revealing... nothing. The closet was empty and concealed no hidden child or person; just the normal mess of boxes and messily hung clothing was visible.

"I was playing by myself." Emily said quietly. Katherine exhaled loudly and reached a hand up to swipe back her hair of her forehead, before keeping it there and pursing her lips. There were times when even she was confounded by the child.

"Well how about Mac and cheese for dinner? I can have it ready in a few minutes." Katherine finally asked. Emily smiled to this and allowed Katherine to gently take her hand as she walked out of the room, but before they reached the end of the hall Emily stopped.

"I want to get Alex."

"Hmm, okay come down to the kitchen afterwards. I think I put her in your bedroom after you left her on the living room floor last night." Katherine replied absentmindedly, she was used to Emily severe attachment to the little doll by then.

"Kay." Emily waited till Katherine had descended the stairs before turning back into Katherine's room and slowly walking towards the closest again, all the while starring intently at it. This time without hesitation she grabbed the doorknob and gently opened the door, creaking all the while. The closet was the same as it had been before, but this time Emily smiled and pushed past the coats and hangers to the back of the closet, where she came face to face with a full length mirror. It was the same mirror that had been in her bedroom at the house in the country and the same one that had hung in the bathroom of their old townhouse. It was a mirror that had reflected back many a horrifying image of its smooth glass.

Satisfied at having found her opponent Emily let out a little laugh. Facing the mirror and her own reflection, Emily grinned in a gruesome fashion, her pale blue eyes lighting up in a sickening manner as her whole face contorted into an evil expression, before saying.

"I've found you Charlie"

**A/N: well i hope you liked it, i wanted to do a creepy ending with Emily and this had been nagging at the back of my Brain for a while. Please remember to review!;)**


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